To Come Home To
by Raven-Leigh
Summary: Written as a giftfic for MisuMisu84! AU. Cid and Vincent meet one another in odd circumstances, when Vin's car breaks down. Cid pursues him even when the going gets tough for Vincent.


There were times when Cid wondered if people tore their own shit up just to piss him off. In and out of the mechanic's shop, day in and day out, there were soccer moms, college professors, daddy's girls, and other various people that did their best to enrage the blonde. At best it was a horrible day. At worse, Cid threatened to ram a carburetor where the sun didn't shine just to get someone to shut up.

And then there was that day.

An angel stepped through the door, not that Cid cared or believed in all that bullshit about angels and harps and halos. But whatever this thing was, this glorious creature, Cid didn't want it to leave the shop, and he was entirely sure he knew how to keep it there.

It'd been a muggy, rainy day and the shop was without lights for the moment, so he was forced to work on the lower level free of the lift, due to using whatever natural light he could glean from the outside. When he heard the mechanical door open, he shifted his head to the side, spitting chewed up cigar paper to the floor amidst the grease and kitty litter that dominated the cold cement underneath his roller panel. iGreat. Another fuckin' person waitin' to leave their piece'ashit here for me to work on./i Sure, it gave him money, but sometimes he wanted a challenge. A manly challenge, a challenge that was worthy of someone as skilled as he was. At 34, Cid favored himself as a man that needed some kind of a different experience, something outside of the norm.

The last person that had brought his car in to be checked had assured him that it was something that had stumped five car shops beforehand. He'd gotten excited, too happy to explain. And then he'd discovered that he had a new thing to claim in the paper where he advertised. He found the bird's nest in the radiator and lost all hope for ever having that challenge that he so craved.

Therefore, when he saw black tennis shoes wandering around the edge of the car he was working on, he was slightly irritated. "HEY! LAVI! See who the hell that is, why don'tcha?!"

The tennis shoes stopped and shifted as the figure stood there next to his legs. "LAVI! LAAAAAAVI! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?! GOD DAMNIT. Why do I have to handle all this shit all by myself? See what kinda god damn pay cut you get later on in the month, damnit." He dropped the crescent wrench and pushed his goggles hastily up on his forehead, just to push off on the drive shaft and wheel himself out from under the vehicle.

That was when he came upon the first sight of his angel. The angel that was looking down at him couldn't have been holy. No, he had the most unkempt black hair that Cid had ever seen framing that picturesque face; the red eyes glancing down at him were calm and benevolent, as if he'd raged through a storm from hell instead of the rainy mess that was ruling outside. He had his arms crossed over that slender chest and stomach, peering down at the mechanic in curious fashion as if trying to decide if he'd lost his mind or not. Slim and tall, the angel just stood there without saying a word, staring down at the bewildered man that was lying face-up with his mouth open, gaping.

Cid found himself looking for wings.

***

Vincent sat there on the cleared off spot on top of the toolbox, tapping his fingertips against the red metal as he watched the man. He was bent over at the waist, head shot down into the motor right as he waited, having promised to find that quick fix, having promised to get his vehicle out as fast as he could. He hadn't even had to say anything. iWhat a good quality place. I'll have to recommend it to my associates. I'd have never thought he was as kind as he is with the way he spoke when I came in. … What kind of a name is Lavi?/i He found himself looking this way and that for someone that could pass as an assistant, and he only saw a red-haired youth descending the stairs from the upper level, wiping his hands on a cloth. iAh. … So young. Must be his son or apprentice./I

Cid shifted underneath the hood and stood straight, shooting a fiery grin over his shoulder at the fallen angel. "So, I found'yer problem! Battery cables were all c'roded and I just had to clean 'em off for ya! Should be runnin' right as rain just as soon as I get it all hooked up again, huh? So what brings ya here?" He looked Vincent up and down, trying to figure out just what he was dressed for.

Black pants, black shirt, black tennis shoes. "Ya work for a hair-stylin' salon or somethin', sweetcheeks?"

Vincent shot him a look that was a mixture between vexation and death. "Hair styling? … No. I'm a mortician."

Cid went a little pale and tilted his head. "Way to play to the stereotype, sweetheart. So. Tell ya what." He wiped his hands on a shop towel and leaned back against the Camry, a large, leering grin on his face. He pushed his wrist up against the goggles to straighten them out, or for what he perceived to be straightening. They made his hair stick up in all of the wrong places, not that it didn't already stick up beforehand. "I'ma cut'cha a deal. See, I'm awful bored at night an' I ain't got nothin' to do… So if ya do me the favor of meetin' up with me after work, I won't charge ya anything."

Cid loved challenges.

And he found out that he had one in the fallen angel before him.

Vincent cocked an eyebrow and pushed his hair out of his face. "I don't need companionship. I have the money to pay the bill. I also have a prior engagement." The mechanic could tell that he had nothing more prior to his engagement than an evening at home. That was okay. Cid loved challenges.

He grinned and leaned over the car, putting the battery cables back on and tightening them down. He reached up with the screwdriver and made sure to jab at the radiator hose. He did it in pretense of tapping the battery cables down onto the posts, but really he knew what would happen. The mechanic chewed on his cigar and stepped back, slamming the hood down and turning to grin at Vincent. "So. Ya enjoy that engagement, ya hear? An' please come back later, 'kay?"

The undertaker shifted to pull his wallet out. "What do I owe you?"

"Eh, jus' make it fifty! Yer a new customer and I always cut new customers great deals!"

Under another car, Lavi snorted. Right. Cid cutting anyone any breaks? That was a first. He ignored the going ons and tried to figure out just why there were chew marks in the wires where he was working.

Vincent tilted his head and then fished out $60, handing it to him in the pretense of a tip. "I don't have anything else, but keep the extra as a tip for doing it so quickly."

The blonde man just adjusted the goggles on his head and shifted, pocketing the cash. "Thanks much, sweetheart! Oh, an' before I forget t'say! Ya might wanna get them brakes looked at 'fore the end'a the month. They look like they got a lotta dust on 'em an' ya don't want 'em to stick and fail!"

***

"It was just the strangest thing. I got out of my car and looked and there was a pool of coolant dripping out from underneath the front end of my vehicle. I can't for the life of me figure out what happened, but I didn't want to touch it, so I just called the wrecker to bring it to your job."

Cid watched the pitiful excuse for a car as it just sat there, looking dejected. Much like he'd felt the night before when he'd went home alone. Lavi stood behind him, staring at the large pool underneath where the wrecker had set the vehicle down in the shop and pulled out. The mechanic shifted, chewing on his cigar as he turned to look at Vincent. "Babe, looks like ya got a hole in yer radiator or either yer radiator hose!"

The fallen angel looked very concerned. "How much is that going to cost?"

"Weeell, see, if it's yer radiator, it's gonna cost ya a pretty penny, but if it's your radiator hose, everything's gonna be alright, ya know?" He smiled and reached out to pop the hood. Lavi watched the man work his magic with ease, and he had an unsettling feeling that Cid knew exactly what was wrong. He wasn't disappointed. The man pointed down before he could even take a good look at what was going on beneath the hood. "See? Yer in luck today! It was just a radiator hose, quick fix! We got 'em lyin' around the shop everywhere, don't we Lavi?"

Lavi had been daydreaming, but when Cid nudged him with a little bit of force, the redhead eyed him, then looked at Vincent who was staring at him. He took the hint that it was best to agree. "Sure do. Yep. Always."

"Such a good boy. Hurry on, get it. We don't wanna keep the busy man waitin'! Got any plans for today, gorgeous?"

Vincent tried to explain away the nicknames that the mechanic had given him. He sounded like a southern gentleman, and wasn't it customary for people from that part of the country to speak to people in such a way, meaning no harm? He let it slide. "Actually, I have someone to prepare tonight, so it's going to be a very late night for me."

He watched the man kind of shift. He was used to people being uncomfortable with the type of work that he did. Perhaps that was why Vincent was single even at thirty? That was why, he was convinced. People tended to skirt death, and what was death but his profession? Alas, someone had to do it, else there would be a lot of unhappy living people in the world. "So ya like guttin' people like that?"

The dark-haired one wrinkled his nose. "I wouldn't call it 'gutting', but yes, I enjoy my profession. It gives me a sense of accomplishment. Not everyone is able to do what I do, and I enjoy giving service to my community in such a manner."

Cid couldn't help the thoughts as they crossed his mind. iBet'cha might wanna service somethin' else…/i "Look, there he is with the hose! Good boy, bet Krory's all happy when ya try'n please him, eh eh?"

Lavi just shot him a withering look and wandered back over to the F150 he was attempting to tinker with. He didn't know why Cid was so cheerful, but it was starting to creep him out to the point of avoidance. It always happened when he got around the strange black-haired man. He wondered if the man had influence over him in ways that no one understood.

Nah. Cid was just thinking with his dick again. He stepped up on the bumper and climbed back into the truck to ignore the two.

***

"I figured I would stop in to see about my brakes… I wouldn't want to go through an intersection and have them fail. That would be detrimental to not only my business but my ability to do my job."

Cid just grinned at him. "Might give ya more clientele, though!"

Vincent just gave him a slight little smile. Dark humor was always appreciated by the dark angel.

***

"Ya say when ya turn the headlights on, the radio lights dim?"

***

"I might be able to fix that crack, honey. C'mon to the back an' let's se-… HOLY SHIT! LAVI! GO PUT ON SOME TEA! What the hell'd ya hit, babydoll? A deer?"

Lavi shot him a withering look as he stepped out of the car he was working on. iI'd better get a raise when he gets laid…/i

***

Vincent sat on top of his toolbox, the one that had been designated as his as the bumble bees swarmed around the shop door. It was a hot summer day and there were no clouds in the sky, and the shop fans were whipping lazily as cars passed in the street outside. He stared at Cid's boots as he wheeled around underneath the vehicle, giving disapproving sounds here and there. "Damn transmission done gave out I think. What happened?" It was one of those rare times that Cid hadn't sabotaged something in order to get the mortician to give him a visit. Then again, it wasn't a good possibility he could sabotage what he was working on.

"I was accelerating up Abalone Drive, and there was a loud pop and my RPM gauge shot up to the caution red backing. I decided it might be a good idea to call you instead of going ahead and gunning it for the funeral home. I didn't know how well the body in the back would hold up if I had a crash."

"Wait. Body?"

Lavi just walked out of the shop as Vincent smiled. "I had it picked up before I called you. I figured you wouldn't appreciate the dead in your motor shop."

"Baby, I think I love ya."

***

"So… Ya come here a lot. I bet yer wife don't approve of that too much cuz yer always spendin' more than I ever would'a thought about!"

Vincent just shrugged. "I'm not married. No one would put up with my line of work for very long. I have odd hours and I always smell strange from the formaldehyde."

The mechanic just smiled. "Ya don't smell funny to me. Folks say I smell like grease all the damn time. That's why I ain't found and kept nobody. But, if ya like what ya do, ain't nothin' wrong with that, y'know? Somebody's gotta do it, like ya said that one time, huh?"

The undertaker nodded. "Indeed. I do value that, someone that understands. You're in the same boat, aren't you? No one to go home to, no one to smile at when the day is done?" Perhaps the mechanic was more like him than he'd imagined?

Cid just smiled. "That's why I do all my grinnin' here cuz I don't have nobody at home to see it. It'd be a waste, wouldn't it?"

Lavi found himself smiling. Cid had never shared his smile before that strange man had started coming in. He was silently glad, as he was in a perpetual good mood. He wanted it to last, wanted the man to keep coming back. He hoped he would.

***

"I dunno what happened. I mean… Ya don't reckon he's hurt, do ya?" Cid stood with Lavi next to the crunched up vehicle, staring at the blood stains in the front seat. Jaws had done its job and had taken the top of the car off. It was lain off to the side for the shop to pick up and the insides were shown to the world. Pieces of hair, that black hair that Cid loved so much, were stuck to the side where the vehicle had rolled and ripped it, cut it from the little fallen angel's head.

Cid swallowed hard as he took in the mess of the totaled wreckage, as he imagined the odds of Vincent surviving. This wasn't a good wreck by any means, and he had a strange feeling that perhaps the undertaker would be frequenting his own funeral home in a casket. That unnerved him. He caught one of the police officers that were still on scene as he scribbled down information on his clipboard.

***

Vincent opened his eyes to an array of sights and smells. The smell of flowers freshly cut, sight of rows and rows of them against the walls and to the side made him think that perhaps he was dead. Perhaps he was at his own funeral? He blinked a few times and shoved himself up from the bed, into a sitting position to look around. He heard the steady beep of a heart monitor and looked over at it before remembering what had happened.

He remembered the light turning red, he remembered the screeching tires and the screams. He wasn't sure if the screams had come from his mouth or if it had been the person in the car that had hit him. He shook his head, trying to free his mind of such horrifying thoughts when he heard a snore. He looked over to where it came from and got the shock of his life.

There in the broken down sleeping chair that was kept for mainly visiting, sat a blonde-haired man with goggles over his eyes. His mouth was wide open and Vincent could see the 5-o-clock shadow that had already started to appear on his face. He smiled as he saw his mechanic there, despite the fact that it hurt. He'd never had anyone there for him.

He'd had to have a gallstone removed a year before and he'd woken up without flowers, without anyone there snoring in the chair next to him. He'd had his arm broken once and no one had been there for him either. To have someone there, someone sleeping in such an uncomfortable spot for him, it warmed the mortician's heart. He swallowed hard and then leaned back into the bed, staring at the ceiling.

Perhaps he'd been right about Cid. Perhaps they were more alike than he'd imagined in the first place?

The thought comforted him as he drifted off to sleep.

***

"So how're ya feelin' sweetheart? It had ya banged all up an' stuff. I'm glad I found yer car cuz there was yer shit all strewed out all over the place, I'm tellin' ya! I got everything that's yers in my shop, locked up nice an' tidy in the main space so nobody'll steal nothin'. I brought the shit that looked important here for ya, 'kay?"

Vincent stared at the mesh bag and then up at Cid. "You did this for me?"

"Everybody's gotta have somebody, right babydoll? So, when're ya getting' outta here? I got my eye on ya a new car an' everything."

"New car?" Vincent blinked. "… Oh. That's right. Mine was likely totaled."

"Ya don't remember them cuttin' ya out of it? Strange cuz usually folks are the most freaked out about the Jaws comin' out. That's okay. Yeah, a new car. It's a nice-lookin' one that I'm fixin' up. …If ya want it."

Vincent smiled at him. "I'd be willing to take a look when I'm out."

Cid could almost feel his luck turning, even as he watched the black-haired man struggle to sit up. "Hey, sweetheart? … I was wonderin'. Ya ain't got nobody and I ain't got nobody, right?"

"Of course?"

"Do you need somebody to stay with you? To like, y'know, help ya along? I ain't got nobody to go home to. So I figured I'd come home to you if ya'd let me help ya along."

***

Vincent didn't know what to think about falling in love. He'd never thought about it, but there it was, slapping him in the face. He found that he'd fallen in love with the idea of falling in love, no matter how cliché one would believe it to be. While Cid was working during the day, Vincent found that he couldn't focus well. He did most of his work in the afternoons those days, and he couldn't stop thinking until he heard the clanging of the bell announcing the mechanic's arrival in the evening.

It was like a ritual. Vincent would put down his tools and wash up, hang his apron up, and he would exit the embalming station and lock up tightly. It was an old habit, from seeing all of those bad zombie movies that he'd watched as a teenager.

They would exchange formalities and Vincent would apologize for the strong smell, or the unkempt way that he looked, though he always looked spotless, despite the time of day or night.

Vincent didn't like the ritual changed after he'd gotten used to it. But there was one time that he didn't mind.

Cid walked through the door the same time as he always did that day, and Vincent stepped out of the chamber and locked up. But when he turned, he ran right into the mechanic's chest, which he didn't appreciate at all. "Good evening."

"Hey, sweetpea." The mechanic looked like he was pondering something, like he had something planned. Vincent mulled over what it was and was about to ask him when he was shown instead.

Cid leaned down and lightly brushed his lips over Vincent's peering at him through his lashes. "Happy t'seeya tonight."

Color rose in the undertaker's cheeks and Vincent couldn't help but smile. "It's very good to see you this evening as well."


End file.
